Your Daily Walk to the Abyss with Your Angel

 We all have those days when the world feels heavy, colors muted, and the space between your ribs seems to constrict with each inhale. It's on these precarious mental walks that some encounter a terrifying companion—the voice whispering thoughts of ending it all.

But here's the truth: you're not alone on this path. Alongside the darkness walks another presence, a guardian you might not even recognize—an angel. This angel doesn't have to be some ethereal being; it's the part of you that fights for survival, the voice urging you toward hope.

Recognizing Your Angel's Voice

Your angel's voice may be faint at first. It might be a flicker of self-preservation, a cherished memory that surfaces, or the hesitant call of a loved one. It's the undercurrent urging you to reach out, take a breath, and see another sunrise.

Here's the thing—sometimes, we mistake this whisper for weakness. We silence them with judgment, believing seeking help is a sign of defeat. But your angel's voice is the very essence of strength. It's the will to live, the fight to reclaim your mental space.

Taking Action with Your Angel

So, how do we empower this angel? Here are some steps:

1. Acknowledge the Darkness: Ignoring the suicidal thoughts only strengthens them. Acknowledge them, but don't engage. Talk to yourself like a friend going through a tough time - with compassion and understanding.
2. Engage Your Senses: Ground yourself in the present moment. Notice the details around you—the texture of your clothes, the scent of air, the taste of water. Simple sensory experiences can disrupt negative thought patterns.
3. Reach Out: This is where that voice shines the brightest. Call a friend, family member, or a crisis hotline.  There are people who care and want to help you walk away from the abyss.
   
4. Seek Professional Help: A therapist can be your partner in strengthening your angel's voice. They can equip you with coping mechanisms and help you understand the root of your suicidal thoughts.

Remember, your suicidal thoughts do not define you. They are visitors, not residents. With self-co passion and the support of your psychological angel, you can choose a different path towards healing and hope.

Here are some resources to help you on your journey:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 (LGBTQ+ youth)

You are not alone. Your angel is with you. Take a step towards hope today.

Eyewitness Memory vs. Face Recognition Systems: Can Machines See Better Than We Do?

 Eyewitness misidentification is a well-documented problem that can have devastating consequences. While eyewitness accounts are often crucial in criminal investigations, scientific studies have shown that memory can be unreliable, especially under stressful circumstances. 

On the other hand, AI systems like Face Recognition Systems  (FRS) are becoming increasingly common in law enforcement. These systems can analyze footage from security cameras and other sources to identify suspects. But are they more reliable than human memory?

Kleider and colleagues' (2024) research addresses this critical question.  Their study compared the accuracy of FRS with human eyewitness identification in a controlled setting. Kleider and colleagues (2024) measured:

1. Discriminability is the ability to distinguish between the culprit and innocent suspects.
2.  Reliability is the relationship between confidence and accuracy.

Building a Diverse Sample

To investigate how well facial recognition systems compare to eyewitness memory, Kleider and colleagues (2024):

1. Recruited 237 participants through Georgia State University's undergraduate subject pool.
2. An online platform for research studies.
3. The participants were between 18 and 66 years old, and researchers aimed for a diverse group and reported their racial and gender makeup.

Can You Spot the Criminal? Testing Memory and Machines

The researchers pitted human memory against facial recognition technology in a two-part experiment, and here is how Kleider and colleagues (2024) did it:

1. Human participants watched crime scene videos online. After each video, they completed a distracting task before looking at a lineup with either the culprit or similar-looking innocent people; then, they had to identify the perpetrator or indicate they weren't present, along with their confidence level.
   
2. Secondly, the same videos and lineups were fed into the FRS, and just like law enforcement might do, the FRS grabbed a single frame of each culprit's face and compared it to every face in the lineup. It then generated a similarity score for each comparison.

Who Won the Face Recognition Showdown?

Kleider and colleagues (2024) concluded from their results:

1. The FRS generally did better than people, especially with blurry videos.
2. FRS and memory accuracy dropped for unclear videos, stressing the importance of good footage.
3. The tested FRS showed no racial bias, and surprisingly, eyewitness performance was alson't affected by race, possibly due to the study's diverse participants.
4. 
   The FRS ideally identified faces with the highest similarity scores, which suggests that prioritizing high-similarity matches in investigations could reduce mistakes.

The researchers caution that these results are based on one FRS and need confirmation with other systems and more video variations.  They also reveal that their research has implications for law enforcement:

• FRS as a Tool: FRS can be valuable, especially with low-quality videos. However, limitations and potential errors require cautious interpretation of results.
  
  
  
  

Interpreting FRS Outputs: Police officers should consider FRS similarity scores and other evidence.

Regulations and Training Needed: Law enforcement's widespread use of FRS demands clear rules and training programs to ensure proper use.

References

Kleider, Heather & Stevens, Beth & Mickes, Laura & Boogert, Stewart. (2024). Application of artificial intelligence to eyewitness identification. Cognitive research: principles and implications. 9. 19. 10.1186/s41235-024-00542-0.

Why We Remember the Heart-Pounding Moments More Vividly: The Link Between Emotions and Memory

 Have you noticed how some memories seem burned into your brain while others fade like a forgotten dream? The answer might lie in the surprising connection between emotions and memory.

Our emotions influence how we remember the past. Events that trigger strong feelings, whether positive or negative, tend to be etched more deeply in our minds than those that leave us feeling neutral. Let's explore the fascinating science behind this phenomenon.

Emotional Events Leave a Stronger Mark

Imagine flipping through a photo album. The pictures that evoke strong emotions - a joyous wedding day, a tearful goodbye, a thrilling roller coaster ride - likely stand out more vividly than t

hose of a random Tuesday afternoon.  Research backs this up. Studies show that people remember arousing words like anger or excitement better than neutral ones like table or chair (Goldstein, 2019). The same goes for pictures - emotional scenes are more easily recalled after a long time than neutral ones.

The Amygdala: The Brain's Emotional Hub

So, what's happening in our brains to create this effect? A key player is the amygdala, a structure deep within the brain responsible for processing emotions. Goldstein (2019) explains the amygdala's role:

1. When we experience something emotionally charged, the amygdala becomes more active. This activity is thought to help us encode memory more effectively, making it more likely to be remembered later.

Emotions and Memory Consolidation

Goldstein (2019) writes that memories aren't formed and fixed in an instant :

• They go through a process of consolidation, where they are strengthened and stabilized over time, and emotions also play a role in this process.
• 
  Studies suggest that hormones released during emotional experiences, like cortisol, can enhance memory consolidation.
• This means emotionally charged events are encoded more effectively and better protected from fading away.

The Case of B.P.

The importance of the amygdala for emotional memory is further highlighted by a fascinating case study as told by Goldstein (2019):

1. Patient B.P. suffered damage to his amygdala. When shown a slideshow depicting a boy getting injured, B.P. could recall the first part of the story just fine, But not the emotional part where the boy gets hurt.
2. This suggests that a healthy amygdala is crucial for forming solid memories of emotional events.

The Power of Emotions in Shaping Our Memories

The link between emotions and memory helps us understand why certain events from our past remain so vivid and why traumatic experiences can be so difficult to forget. By understanding this connection, we can gain valuable insights into how our minds work and how emotions influence our perception of the past.

References

Goldstein, B. (2019). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience (5th ed.) [Review of Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience]. Cengage.

Flashbulb Memories: Vivid Yet Flawed Snapshots of Shocking Events

 Have you ever had an experience etched so deeply in your mind that you can recall the tiniest details? Many people share this phenomenon with events like the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Goldstein (2019) states that these vivid memories of learning about public events are called flashbulb memories. But are they photographic snapshots of the past, or are they more like impressionistic paintings?

The Birth of a Term: Flashbulb Memories

Goldstein (2019) explains how the term was coined:

1. Psychologists Roger Brown and James Kulik coined the term flashbulb memory in 1977.
2. They were particularly interested in memories surrounding President John F. Kennedy's assassination. They believed that the emotional intensity of such events triggers a unique memory mechanism, creating a permanent, detailed record of how we learned about them.

Flashbulb Memories: Special or Not So Special?

While Brown and Kulik believed flashbulb memories were exceptional, research paints a different picture. Studies using repeated recall show that these memories change over time, and people may forget details or even misremember where they were or who told them about the event.

For instance, a study on the Challenger space shuttle explosion revealed that participants' memories of where they first heard the news shifted over a few years. This suggest that flashbulb memories are susceptible to influences beyond the original experience, just like regular memories. (Goldstein, 2019)

The Power of Rehearsal and Media

Researcher Ulric Neisser and his team proposed the "narrative rehearsal hypotheses" to explain flashbulb memories. They argue that we rehearse these events through conversations, news reports, and social media, which strengthens the memory but can also introduce inaccuracies (Goldstein, 2019).

Imagine constantly seeing images of the 9/11 attacks on TV. This repetition might make you believe you initially saw the news on TV, even if you didn't.

Researcher James Ost reinforces this idea. Participants were asked if they had seen a video of Princess Diana's car crash, which never existed (Goldstein 2019). The extensive media coverage led some to believe they had seen something unreal.

Flashbulb Memories: A Blend of Vividness and Inaccuracy

Research suggests that flashbulb memories, while vivid and enduring, are not immune to distortion. They share some characteristics with everyday memories, like fading details over time. However, flashbulb memories are more likely to be remembered, even if the details are inaccurate.

The Takeaway: Memories Can Be Reconstructed

Flashbulb memory research highlights human memory's fascinating—and som
etimes frustrating—flexibility. Our memories are not perfect recordings of the past but reconstructions influenced by emotions, rehearsal, and even media portrayals. Understanding this process is crucial for evaluating the accuracy of our memories, especially when dealing with historical events or eyewitness testimonies.

References

Goldstein, B. (2019). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience (5th ed.) [Review of Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience]. Cengage.